Wormie
by tatooineknights
Summary: The children always called him Wormie - Luke Skywalker always wondered why?


"Wormie."

The grained sands of the desert called and groveled to his skin, quick to tangle and trap, as easily as any other youth that was unfortunate enough to endure the harsh planet of Tatooine. Even when inside, there was always the tiniest specks buried inside carefully compacted clothing – copious amounts twisted inside visible hair. As he lay on the ground, sand mixing with his ungroomed mop of a haircut, Luke Skywalker wondered why he let his hair grow out so much.

"Little Wormie," teased blurred voices that surrounded him as his eyes tensed, face buried in the sand, hoping to wait out their cruel and unyielding taunts. He wasn't sure how he ended up like this – there were some taunts thrown from both sides, himself and another boy, and he found himself shoved to the ground; now they were ganging up on him. "You're a little worm like that deserves to be stuck in the ground."

His blood was racing as his open skin burnt against the fibers of the ground, the heat of the suns plastering themselves all over him. If Luke remembered right, the fight started because the other boy made a scathing remark about his parents – or lack thereof. That was a topic that would easily rile the kid up enough to get in trouble. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru loved him deeply, loved him as their own child, and indeed they were his parents; but at that same time, they were never addressed as such. There two missing people in his life, two people that most of his peers still had.

The mother died in childbirth and the father died not that long after.

It had been twelve years since his eyes opened for the very first time; the boy could only imagine that has infant-self saw the world around him with the same feeling of wistfulness and isolation that he felt now, to this very moment, mouth spitting out a mixture of dirt and sand. The child had been granted a true and proper boyhood with decent friends and a small but warm family that truly cared for and loved him. Maybe that was why he felt guilty as he wondered if he truly belonged on this crater in the universe.

Luke Skywalker was different. He didn't know precisely how to explain it, and on the surface he probably appeared quite plain and basic, but something inside him called for thrills and excitement (and for Uncle Owen, trouble) that most of his peers couldn't relate. While he was careful never to get arrogant with himself, Skywalker knew that there were unrealized talents he shared that no one else could compare: at the age of ten, the boy was already a gifted pilot, and at twelve, could fire rounds from his toy rifle as well as any other man. This made him friends but also made enemies; jealous children that wanted to clip the wings of a young bird and force him to stay in the mound below.

Quite smart was Luke as he continued his time at school but his academics suffered as he aged, adventurous daydreams becoming more and more common with each year. This didn't grant him any favors with his instructors, who found themselves struggling to relate to a restless child that needed to find his place in Tatooinean culture. "You need to be stricter, Owen," he recalled hearing behind locked doors as worried teachers informer his aunt and uncle. "You need to make him grow up."

Wormie was an ugly nickname and one that immediately boiled his blood and sent him into a quick fight, which being smaller and less developed than the other boys his age, usually ended with him as the loser. Maybe that was why they called him that – maybe it wasn't so much what he was but what everyone else wanted him to be. After all, who would expect that this awkward and gangly boy could leave this prison of a planet while most of his peers remained trapped for life? They wanted him to have the same treatment.

Maybe, then, that was why he kept his hair so long on a world consumed by scorching heat, unyielding deserts and a plethora of sand; a bold statement that he was not one of this life and a constant reminder to himself that he'd escape one day. For now though, he was a lonely scapegoat of this bitter place.

"Gonna cry?"

Luke opened his eyes for a second at the sound of the voice, feeling faint mist dribble down his cheeks. Coated with embarrassment and painted with sediment, he brought his hands over his face and rubbed pink puffy cheeks. He gasped as he felt a wet warmth drawing down his nose – blood.

"Leave him alone or you're gonna deal with me," bellowed a voice from behind. Everyone turned to face that voice, Luke included, staring directly at an older boy that towered over the rest of them, obviously a year or two older. The rest of the children quickly ran the other, leaving their victim in a troubled heap on the ground, as the older boy approached him.

"That is definitely blood," stated the young man, with a delicate warmth to his voice that pleased Luke's ears. There were just the tiniest hints of black fuzz that prickled above his upper lip, causing Luke to raise his own and cover his own smooth and soft skin in slight jealousy. "I've seen you around here but I don't think we've ever actually met. My name is Biggs – Biggs Darklighter," the kid said as he extended out his hand and helped pull Luke to his feet. "You're that Skywalker everyone talks about, right? Looks like you got your ass beat."

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"Sure, you seemed to be handling that pretty well," he laughed. "I don't like a lot of the kids in your class – well, actually, I guess most of the classes. They all like to pick on people different from them or that try to leave this place; there are a lot of bullies on this planet. According to my mom and dad, they don't stop once they graduate from school either." Though Biggs had the face of a young teenager, his voice had already been broken into and shaped like a man. This made Luke slightly self-conscious as he deliberately attempted to lower his voice in response.

"My Uncle has said the same thing," hushed Luke as he attempted to deepen his voice, wiping the blood from his nose onto his sleeve, trying his hardest to appear slightly older and stronger in front of this kid. "My name is Luke, by the way. Thanks for stopping those guys. I just – I just can't stand this place. There's nothing to do here, everyone around here is so mean, and no one ever seems to get me."

"Well, we've only talked for a couple of seconds but I'm pretty sure I feel the exact same as you."

"Do you really?"

"Definitely. When I'm old enough, the very first thing I'm gonna do is join the Academy and make my way off this hunk of rock. That's what you should do too, Luke, if you really don't like it here. My mom and dad have told me they'd both be happy if I enlisted. We have some other family members that assisted with the Empire not that long ago and they said it was an adventure of a lifetime! Boy, all the stories I could tell you."

"Tell me!" Luke shouted eagerly, looking to his new friend with wonder. His aunt and uncle were so far removed from the state of politics, careful not to step on the twos of either the Imperials or the Hutts, but that didn't stop the stories of glorious airbattles and intergalactic travel from entering the ever impressionable ears of Luke Skywalker. It was like a dream to him – being able to see any and all this galaxy had to offer. "I want to hear more."

"Well," Biggs smirked as his eyes twinkled. "This is just between you and me. It's not something you'd want to repeat to anyone.. but there's a rumor going around that a bunch of people are actually forming a group against the Empire. I don't know much about it, but exciting right?"

"Oh boy," whispered Luke, as if he had just been handed the greatest gift in the universe. "Tell me more."

"I will, I promise, we can spend a whole day talking about it – but wouldn't that be fun? You, and me, flying around all over space? Everyone on Tatooine would be so jealous."

"My aunt and uncle think it is too dangerous," pouted Luke as he kicked the ground ahead of him, shifting back to the harsh reality of his world. "They'd never let me leave this place. I'm their only child so they're really protective of me. Uncle Owen wants me to take over the farm someday but, I don't know, it just isn't me."

"I don't think this planet is right for either of us," Biggs sighed as he swung his arm around the neck of his new friend; Luke turned away his face to hide his beaming smile. "We both still have quite a bit before we'll be old enough for that. There's a lot we can do in the meantime though: this place is a hunk of rock but there's plenty of places to have fun if we make the most of it."

"Well," Luke shuffled as he thought of something the two of them could do together, rubbing his chin thoughtfully before being reminded of something. "My uncle does have a T-16 skyhopper. He doesn't like it whenever I borrow it but he also doesn't really mind either. We could totally have fun in one of those someday. It's not the latest model but there is a ton of ground we can cover with it."

"Whoa," Biggs beamed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "But who would fly it?"

"You don't have to worry about that," the kid said as he raised his arms and imitated being inside the cockpit, initiating takeoff with childish whistles as he brought his hands to a fist, blasting pretend fire out at Biggs. He swam around in circles as he mocked fire at targets from every direction, flipping imaginary switches as he turned. "I'm a little bit of an expert. I've taken that baby out several times and haven't even left a scratch."

The older kid laughed at his eager enthusiasm but Luke could tell that he was being taken seriously by this older kid. For the first time in his life, someone was actually listening instead of talking past him. His overzealous mouth continued to rant and rant as the two found a place to settle, climbing atop a deserted building and sitting on the roof to stare at the darkening sky.

There were so many stories to tell – so much to share. Though he had only met Biggs for a little over an hour, he quickly knew that this was going to be the start of one of the most defining friendships of his life. There was another boy like him – he wasn't alone. Luke twisted his head back and glanced at his new friend, noting that his black hair shagged down just a little lower than normal as well.

The two of them? They'd be going places.

"We should hang out more, Luke. I'm just another grade higher than you but that shouldn't stop us from being friends," Biggs stated as the twin suns of Tatooine began to fade and blend in with the night sky, sitting up and preparing for his descent down. "I know where your folks are at, I can stop by their place tomorrow if you wanted. We could, uh, maybe take that T-16 for a test ride."

"That'd be swell," smiled Luke with a toothy grin, following his friend as they both made their way back home. The younger boy noticed the air and confidence that Biggs walked with, becoming self-aware of his own lacking posture and the hunch of his back. Luke straightened out his back and puffed his chest, heading back as if he were on top the world. For, in that small moment, the Wormie of Tatooine truly was.


End file.
